2025-04-01https://repository.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/handle/123456789/39401Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus has been associated with subsequent infection and transmission within the hospital and community settings. This study was carried out to evaluate the carriage rates of S. aureus in a University student population and describe risk factors associated with the carriage. Two-hundred and seventy-seven nasal samples were obtained from healthy volunteer students and screened for S. aureus by standard microbiological techniques. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was conducted on the bacterial isolates by the disk diffusion technique. A questionnaire was conducted with each student to acquire demographic and risk factor information. One hundred and fifty-seven (56.7%) isolates were identified as S. aureus. Antibiotic resistance was highest for cloxacillin (91%), ceftazidime (71%), cotrimoxazole (23%), erythromycin (20%) and oxacillin (16%). Risk factors such as hospitalization in the past 12 months, recent skin infection and participation in sports were significantly associated with carrier status. High resistance to certain antibiotics observed in this study shows that nasal colonization could serve as a reservoir of antibiotic resistant strains within the community.application/pdfQ Science (General), QH301 BiologyArticle